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DEDICATION
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3
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PREFACE
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5
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COLOR PLATES
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9
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ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
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11
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INTRODUCTION
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12
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THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES AND SECRET SOCIETIES WHICH HAVE INFLUENCED
MODERN MASONIC SYMBOLISM
Ancient systems of education--Celsus concerning the Christians--Knowledge
necessary to right living--The Druidic Mysteries of Britain and Gaul--The
Rites of Mithras--The Mithraic and Christian Mysteries contrasted.
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21
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THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES AND SECRET SOCIETIES, PART II
The Gnostic Mysteries--Simon Magus and Basilides--Abraxas, the Gnostic
concept of Deity--The Mysteries of Serapis--Labyrinth symbolism--The
Odinic, or Gothic, Mysteries.
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25
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THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES AND SECRET SOCIETIES, PART III
The Eleusinian Mysteries--The Lesser Rites--The Greater Rites--The
Orphic Mysteries--The Bacchic Mysteries--The Dionysiac Mysteries.
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29
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ATLANTIS AND THE GODS OF ANTIQUITY
Plato's Atlantis in the light of modern science-The Myth of the Dying
God-The Rite of Tammuz and Ishtar--The Mysteries of Atys and Adonis-The
Rites of Sabazius--The Cabiric Mysteries of Samothrace.
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33
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THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF THOTH HERMES TRISMEGISTUS
Suppositions concerning identity of Hermes--The mutilated Hermetic
fragments--The Book of Thoth--Poimandres, the Vision of Hermes--The
Mystery of Universal Mind--The Seven Governors of the World.
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37
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THE INITIATION OF THE PYRAMID
The opening of the Great Pyramid by Caliph at Mamoun--The passageways
and chambers of the Great Pyramid--The riddle of the Sphinx--The Pyramid
Mysteries--The secret of the Pyramid coffer-The dwelling place of the
Hidden God.
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41
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ISIS, THE VIRGIN OF THE WORLD
The birthdays of the gods--The murder of Osiris--The Hermetic Isis--The
symbols peculiar to Isis--The Troubadours--The mummification of the dead.
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45
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THE SUN, A UNIVERSAL DEITY
The Solar Trinity-Christianity and the Sun--The birthday of the Sun--The
three Suns--The celestial inhabitants of the Sun--The midnight Sun.
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49
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THE ZODIAC AND ITS SIGNS
Primitive astronomical instruments--The equinoxes and solstices--The
astrological ages of the world--The circular zodiac of Tentyra--An
interpretation of the zodiacal signs--The horoscope of the world.
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53
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THE BEMBINE TABLE OF ISIS
Plato's initiation in the Great Pyramid--The history of the Bembine
Table--Platonic theory of ideas--The interplay of the three
philosophical zodiacs--The Chaldean philosophy of triads--The Orphic Egg.
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57
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WONDERS OF ANTIQUITY
The ever-burning lamps--The oracle of Delphi--The Dodonean oracle--The
oracle of Trophonius--The initiated architects--The Seven Wonders of the
world.
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61
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THE LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY OF PYTHAGORAS
Pythagoras and the School of Crotona--Pythagoric fundamentals--The
symmetrical solids--The symbolic aphorisms of Pythagoras--Pythagorean
astronomy--Kepler's theory of the universe.
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65
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PYTHAGOREAN MATHEMATICS
The theory of numbers--The numerical values of letters--Method of
securing the numerical Power of words--An introduction to the
Pythagorean theory of numbers--The sieve of Eratosthenes--The meanings
of the ten numbers.
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69
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THE HUMAN BODY IN SYMBOLISM
The philosophical manikin--The three universal centers--The temples of
initiation--The hand in symbolism--The greater and lesser man--The
Anthropos, or Oversoul.
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73
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THE HIRAMIC LEGEND
The building of Solomon's Temple--The murder of CHiram Abiff--The
martyrdom of Jacques de Molay--The spirit fire and the pineal gland--The
wanderings of the astronomical CHiram--Cleopatra's Needle and Masons'
marks.
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77
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THE PYTHAGOREAN THEORY OF MUSIC AND COLOR
Pythagoras and the diatonic scale--Therapeutic music--The music of the
spheres--The use of color in symbolism--The colors of the spectrum and
the musical scale--Zodiacal and planetary colors.
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81
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FISHES, INSECTS, ANIMALS, REPTILES, AND BIRDS
Jonah and the whale--The fish the symbol of Christ--The Egyptian scarab--Jupiter's
fly--The serpent of wisdom--The sacred crocodile.
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85
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FISHES, INSECTS, ANIMALS, REPTILES, AND BIRDS, PART II
The dove, the yonic emblem--The self-renewing phœnix--The Great Seal of
the United States of America--Bast, the cat goddess of the Ptolemies--Apis,
the sacred bull--The monoceros, or unicorn.
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89
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FLOWERS, PLANTS, FRUITS, AND TREES
The flower, a phallic symbol--The lotus blossom--The Scandinavian World
Tree, Yggdrasil--The sprig of acacia--The juice of the grape--The
magical powers of the mandrake.
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93
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STONES, METALS, AND GEMS
Prehistoric monuments--The tablets of the Law--The Holy Grail--The ages
of the world--Talismanic jewels--Zodiacal and planetary stones and gems.
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97
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CEREMONIAL MAGIC AND SORCERY
The black magic of Egypt--Doctor Johannes Faustus--The Mephistopheles of
the Grimores--The invocation of spirits--Pacts with demons--The
symbolism of the pentagram.
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101
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p. 8
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THE ELEMENTS AND THEIR INHABITANTS.
The Paracelsian theory of submundanes--The orders of elemental beings--The
Gnomes, Undines, Salamanders, and Sylphs--Demonology--The incubus and
succubus--Vampirism.
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105
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HERMETIC PHARMACOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND THERAPEUTICS
The healing methods of Paracelsus--Palingenesis--Hermetic theories
concerning the cause of disease--Medicinal properties of herbs--The use
of drugs in the Mysteries--The sect of the Assassins.
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109
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THE QABBALAH, THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF ISRAEL
The written and unwritten laws--The origin of the Qabbalistic writings--Rabbi
Simeon ben Jochai--The great Qabbalistic books--The divisions of the
Qabbalistic system--The Sepher Yetzirah.
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113
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FUNDAMENTALS OF QABBALISTIC COSMOGONY AIN SOPH
and the Cosmic Egg--The Qabbalistic system of worlds--The Qabbalistic
interpretation of Ezekiel's vision--The great image of Nebuchadnezzar's
dream--The Grand Man of the universe--The fifty gates of life.
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117
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THE TREE OF THE SEPHIROTH
The thirty-two paths of wisdom--The Greater and the Lesser Face--Kircher's
Sephirothic Tree--The mystery of Daath--The three pillars supporting the
Sephirothic Tree--The four letters of the Sacred Name.
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121
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QABBALISTIC KEYS TO THE CREATION OF MAN
Gematria, Notarikon, and Temurah--The Elohim--The four Adams--Arabian
traditions concerning Adam--Adam as the archetype of mankind--The early
Christian Church on the subject of marriage.
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125
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AN ANALYSIS OF THE TAROT CARDS
The origin of playing cards--The rota mundi of the Rosicrucians--The
problem of Tarot symbolism--The unnumbered card--The symbolism of the
twenty-one major trumps--The suit cards.
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129
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THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS
Moses, the Egyptian initiate--The building of the Tabernacle--The
furnishings of the Tabernacle--The Ark of the Covenant--The Robes of
Glory--The Urim and Thummim.
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133
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THE FRATERNITY OF THE ROSE CROSS
The life of Father C.R.C.--Johann Valentin Andreæ--The alchemical
teachings of the Rosicrucians--Significance of the Rose Cross--The
Rosicrucian Temple--The adepts of the Rose Cross.
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137
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ROSICRUCIAN DOCTRINES AND TENETS
The Confessio Fraternitatis--The Anatomy of Melancholy--John
Heydon on Rosicrucianism--The three mountains of the wise--The
philosophical egg--The objects of the Rosicrucian Order.
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141
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FIFTEEN ROSICRUCIAN AND QABBALISTIC DIAGRAMS
Schamayim, the Ocean of Spirit--The Seven Days of Creation--The symbolic
tomb of Christian Rosencreutz--The regions of the elements--The New
Jerusalem--The grand secret of Nature.
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145
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ALCHEMY AND ITS EXPONENTS
The multiplication of metals--The medal of Emperor Leopold I--Paracelsus
of Hohenheim--Raymond Lully--Nicholas Flarnmel--Count Bernard of Treviso.
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149
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THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ALCHEMY
The origin of alchemical philosophy--Alexander the Great and the talking
trees--Nature and art--Alchemical symbolism--The Song of Solomon--The
Philosopher's Gold.
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153
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THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ALCHEMY, PART II
The alchemical prayer--The Emerald Tablet of Hermes--A letter from the
Brothers of R.C.--The magical Mountain of the Moon--An alchemical
formula--The dew of the sages.
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157
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THE CHEMICAL MARRIAGE
Christian Rosencreutz is invited to the Chemical Wedding--The Virgo
Lucifera--The philosophical Inquisition--The Tower of Olympus--The
homunculi--The Knights of the Golden Stone.
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161
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BACON, SHAKSPEARE, AND THE ROSICRUCIANS
The Rosicrucian mask--Life of William Shakspere--Sir Francis Bacon--The
acrostic signatures--The significant number thirty-three--The
philosophic death.
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165
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THE CRYPTOGRAM AS A FACTOR IN SYMBOLIC PHILOSOPHY
Secret alphabets--The biliteral cipher--Pictorial ciphers--Acroamatic
ciphers--Numerical and musical ciphers--Code ciphers.
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169
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FREEMASONIC SYMBOLISM
The pillars raised by the sons of Seth--Enoch and the Royal Arches--The
Dionysiac Architects--The Roman Collegia--Solomon, the personification
of Universal Wisdom--Freemasonry's priceless heritage.
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173
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MYSTIC CHRISTIANITY
St. Iranæus on the life of Christ--The original name of Jesus--The
Christened man--The Essenes--The Arthurian cycle--Merlin the Mage.
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177
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THE CROSS AND THE CRUCIFIXION
The Aurea Legenda--The lost libraries of Alexandria--The cross in pagan
symbolism--The crucifixion, a cosmic allegory--The crucifixion of
Quetzalcoatl--The nails of the Passion.
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181
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THE MYSTERY OF THE APOCALYPSE
The sacred city of Ephesus--The authorship of the Apocalypse--The Alpha
and Omega--The Lamb of God-The Four Horsemen-The number of the beast.
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185
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THE FAITH OF ISLAM
The life of Mohammed--The revelation of the Koran--The valedictory
pilgrimage--The tomb of the Prophet--The Caaba at Mecca--The secret
doctrine of Islam.
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189
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AMERICAN INDIAN SYMBOLISM
The ceremony of the peace pipe--The historical Hiawatha--The Popol
Vuh--American Indian sorcery--The Mysteries of Xibalba--The
Midewiwin.
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193
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THE MYSTERIES AND THEIR EMISSARIES
The Golden Chain of Homer--Hypatia, the Alexandrian Neo-Platonist--The
"divine" Cagliostro--The Comte de St.-Germain--The designing
of the American flag--The Declaration of Independence.
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197
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CONCLUSION
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201
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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205
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INDEX
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207
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